Accra-Kumasi Expressway project: More than 200 farmers appeal for their compensation after their properties were destroyed
More than 200 farmers at Akyem Asene, near Oda, have appealed to the government for adequate compensation after their properties were destroyed to make way for the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
The affected properties include cocoa farms, food crop farms and oil palm plantations.
The aggrieved farmers, some wearing red cloths around their heads, necks and arms, marched through principal streets of Asene before gathering at the Asene durbar ground to address the media.
Their leaders, Kofi Koranteng Sarpong, Yaw Peprah, Da Costa Asamoah and Yaw Ampomah Asiedu, described the economic hardships they have endured since losing their farms more than eight months ago.
They said the destruction of their farms had deprived them of their livelihoods, making it difficult to meet their daily expenses and pay the tertiary education fees of their children.
Da Costa Asamoah revealed that his eight-acre cocoa farm, which generated an average annual income of about GH¢40,000, was destroyed in February 2026, leaving him in financial difficulty.
Meanwhile, Kofi Koranteng Sarpong expressed concern that the farms of more than 20 affected farmers, including his own, had not been measured to determine the extent of the damage and the compensation due.
The Head of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) survey team for the project, Samuel Tieku, confirmed that some farms had not yet been measured. He explained that the expressway’s planned width had increased from 120 metres to 150 metres, affecting additional farmers.
Mr Tieku urged the farmers to remain calm, assuring them that their concerns would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for assessment and the payment of adequate compensation.
The Benkumhene of Asene, Nana Ntiamoah Nyarko, also appealed to the government to compensate the affected farmers, stressing that payments should have been made before their farms were destroyed to facilitate construction.
